A Rose by Any Other Name
by AManwithaB0x
Summary: A series of one-shots that explore various alternate realities of the world of Remnant. Each features a different form of the girl in red. Rated M for chapter 5 character deaths. Cover art by me.
1. The Eternal

**Author's Note: This version of Ruby was inspired by "The Immortal Maiden" by RavenRose8. I just liked the idea. Some inspiration was also taken from "Remnant's Reclaimer" by Hysterical Clerical Hijinks.**

 **Okay, just so we're clear, this world is based on the idea of RWBY with a "super power" sub-genre. Specifically, Ruby herself gaining new powers.  
**

 **I don't own RWBY in any way.**

* * *

[ DISTANT PAST ]

* * *

It was raining hard. That was all she knew.

She couldn't remember her name, nor where she came from. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know where she was going. She couldn't even tell if she was hungry or not. She frequently shifted between hot and cold as she sat huddled in her small shelter, so even _that_ was unknown. All around her the rain fell. It was at once a peaceful and dreadful sound as it washed away nearly everything.

The girl considered herself again, since that was all she _had_ to do. Her long, scraggly hair was sticking out everywhere, plain as day that she hadn't washed it for at least a few months. She didn't look, but she knew her ribs would be showing if she checked underneath her torn and battered shirt. Her bare feet ached from the nearly endless walking through miles and miles of wilderness. If she were thinking clearly, she might have wondered why the giant black creatures with the bony, white faces seemed to ignore her completely. She vaguely recalled tales of the things attacking villages and killing everyone, so it would have been strange for them to ignore her... but she didn't care.

A growling sound emanated from her midsection. She was hungry.

Eventually the rain relented. The afternoon sun was slow to emerge after the deluge, so the girl moved quickly to get some food before it did. She knew the heat of the day would drain what was left of her stamina. The wind shifted, sending the sweet aroma of fruit to her nose. She turned, following the breeze, her mouth already watering in anticipation of the meal. Her feet moved more quickly, oblivious to the scratches. She hadn't had a decent meal in nearly a week, and she was eager to fill her stomach again.

The sight that greeted the poor girl was decidedly different than what her nose had led her to believe. In a clearing lay four bodies, all young women. At first glance they looked quite dead, what with them all laying in a pool of their own blood - yet the girl soon found that they were still breathing, but just barely. All thoughts of food were abandoned as the ragged girl leapt into the clearing, frantically checking the still-living bodies to find their injuries.

No words were spoken during the whole event. There was no need for any. Although the girl had always been wary of other people, there was no caution present here - her natural curiosity and caring nature had taken over as she tried her best to clean the wounds on the women. She obviously had no idea how to do this, but she tried anyway. She had carefully moved the girls into the shade of a large tree nearby to give them some small comfort, but it was clear their time was short.

After nearly two hours, all four had regained consciousness and regarded their caretaker with weak gasps of air. Even with nearly all of their lifeblood drained from the wounds, the women had the warmest, kindest smiles the girl had ever seen. One by one, they groaned out one word each.

"Summer," said the first woman. Her long, fiery red hair seemed to fade as she spoke.

"Winter," coughed the second. The cool blue tint of her skin was turning a sickly gray.

"Fall," wheezed the third. Her short, auburn hair reminded the girl of the fallen leaves all around them.

The fourth woman, who was closest to the girl, lifted her hand. The girl took it, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to contain her emotions. "Spring," the green-clad woman sighed. After another heart-warming smile, Spring motioned to the girl. The other three turned to look, eager to hear. They wanted to know _her_ name.

Still teary-eyed, the girl shook her head, her dark hair whipping around and smacking her in the face as she did so. Red highlights could be made out in the glints of sunshine that snuck through the treetop above them. She had no name and, even if she did, she hadn't said a word in so many years that she didn't trust her own voice to work when she needed it to.

Slowly, as though using the last of her strength, the woman in green reached up with one hand and gently placed it on the center of the girl's chest. A pleasant warmth spread over her, not unlike the embrace of a mother as she wraps her arms around the most precious thing in her world. The sky quickly grew darker, raindrops once again spattering all over the ground. The woman's bright green eyes, fading though they were, locked onto the girl's bright, silver-colored eyes as she breathed her last word, forever marking the girl and giving birth to a new life with a single, simple word.

"Rain."

* * *

[ PRESENT ]

* * *

The girl called Ruby Rose stared out of the window of her dorm room, entranced by the rainstorm. Her thoughts always seemed to return to that moment, so many years ago, when her living hell of a life had changed forever. It would always happen during the rain. Almost a thousand years had passed and it hadn't failed yet.

The door burst open, blonde hair flying in like a comet. "Hey Rubes! They're serving strawberry pancakes in the cafeteria. You comin'?"

Ruby considered for a moment. "No thanks, sis," she replied slowly. "I'm good."

The blonde paused, unsure of that answer. Ruby refusing strawberries was like rain falling back up to the sky. "You sure? Nora's already on her way there, so if you take too long..."

"I'm alright. Besides, quiet time in here is already pretty rare." Ruby glanced around the room, driving home the point. Laundry was the main culprit in giving away that the room was lived-in by a bunch of teenagers. Books of various shapes and sizes adorned the shelves and a desk area that was, rarely, used for homework. The makeshift bunk beds cast dark shadows into the corners. This was home.

Yang chuckled, "Heh, if you say so. No pouting later!" She gave her sister a ruffling of the hair, knowing Ruby hated it but doing it anyway.

The younger girl batted the hand away, "Can I pout _now_ , then?" She crossed her arms and stuck out her lower lip as far as it could go. Yang just laughed, which of course got Ruby laughing.

With a casual wave behind her, the blonde brawler exited the room. Ruby quietly got up, turned off the lights, then sat back down to watch the rain, her mind silently returning to thoughts of her past.

* * *

[ PAST ]

* * *

Rain, as she now called herself, took very little time to locate an old wooden shack somewhere deep in the forest. It was as though she just ...knew where it would be. The old man who lived there was a little scary at first, but he soon opened up to the girl and even took her in to stay with him. She learned that he was a good friend of the four women who Rain had seen die, and was deeply grieved to hear of their loss. While she didn't remember _everything_ the old man said, the girl finally understood that he was some kind of wizard who could use magic... whatever _that_ was. She also learned that he had given nearly every bit of it to the four maidens, as he had come to call them.

He also said that somehow, beyond his reasoning, he had felt all of that magic lying within Rain. He could only guess it was because she had been there at their final moments, and it was their parting gift to their new friend. Rain could only tear up again as she thought of those four young women, so full of life, being cut down so brutally. Neither of them would likely ever know the truth about what had occurred with their magic.

The old man and Rain worked together to learn what had happened, but the details had been lost to the passages of time. Thinking back, Rain remembered something about angry, drunken villagers who feared the 'witches' and had somehow gotten the drop on them. She hated the fact that something _so_ important at that time had so quickly been forgotten.

Because she had been staying with the old wizard, Rain didn't realize how much time had been passing - but it had been nearly fifty years since she had seen even a remote sign of civilization. By then the old man had deduced the truth of her situation - the girl hadn't aged a day. Having gained the powers of all four maidens, Rain had gained a form of immortality. She had no desire to test the limits of this ability, so she made a strong effort to ensure that she remained safely anonymous.

The next couple of centuries seemed to fly by. Over the course of several human lifetimes, Rain had taken on a large number of new and different identities: one time she was a homeless drifter, another she was a soldier in the Great War. Most times she simply tried to live as a civilian and just enjoy the peace. Each time she did this, she also took on a new name: Rachel, Rebecka, Rachelle, and Rinoa were just a few of them. She always tried to keep an 'R' name for simplicity's sake.

Her most recent life came about courtesy of a woman who, somehow, resembled Rain herself. She was a young Huntress called Summer Rose. The two became fast friends over the years, and Summer became the first person outside of the old wizard who learned of Rain's true identity. Much to the girl's delight, Summer didn't care. Not only that, she had formed a plan to ensure they stayed together even longer - as Summer grew, she could 'adopt' Rain as her daughter once Rain's former role as Huntress ended with her faking her own death (something she had become quite good at by this point). And so, on that fateful day, Ruby Rose came home with her 'mother,' Summer Rose, and met the rest of her family - Taiyang and Yang Xiao Long. Ruby and Yang bonded almost instantly, as though they had always been sisters.

Ruby would often find Summer staring at the two of them with a slight sadness in her gaze, knowing that this happiness would fade away with time. Ruby never truly knew the depths of Summer's love for her, despite the fact that Ruby could easily have been one of Summer's ancestors. Thinking about it later, it occurred to Rain that she may well _have been_.

The day Summer died was the second saddest day of Ruby's life. The day the four maidens died had been the first.

* * *

[ FUTURE ]

* * *

The name of Ruby Rose was the last of the false names the girl had taken. She vowed to never take another.

She sat on an empty cliff, looking out over the ruins of the once-great city of Vale, now destroyed and falling prey to the reclamation of nature. In the distance, she could make out the crumbling walls and spires of Beacon Academy, at one time the single brightest hope in all of Remnant. Houses and storefronts littered the landscape, long forgotten remains of lives that had been lost in the Final War. The rusted, hollow shells of tanks and airships dotted the ground, each laying where they had fallen. There were no bodies - even the skeletal remains had faded and vanished after nearly 500 years of silence. Ruby studied it all. She remembered the fighting, the screaming, the explosions. She remembered the death and destruction. She spent all of her time making absolutely sure that she'd _never_ forget.

Everyone was gone. Humans. Animals. Even the creatures of Grimm. Only Ruby Rose remained.

No, she was back to being Rain now. There was no one to hide from anymore.

For nearly two centuries, Rain had wandered what was left of the world of Remnant. She saw all of the cities, great and small, all lying in total ruins. She explored vast battlefields, devoid even of lingering spirits, walked down ancient roads that were returning to the soil, and wondered absently how many lives were lost in that one, horrific day.

Then she had sat down on this cliff side, content with staring down at the ruins of her last, true home. She had been there for just about three hundred years straight by now, and was fine with waiting until the cliff itself collapsed before she would bring herself to move again.

Her thoughts had lingered into the past many, many times over the years. She thought of the old man and his rough, raspy voice. She thought of Tiberius, her first love, who had gone on to lead an army of 1500 men straight into an ambush of gigantic Grimm. She laughed as she remembered the first child she had adopted with Radian, her 12th husband, and how the boy had admired his 'mother' like she was some kind of living goddess. He would act just like a loyal bodyguard, even though his father was standing _right next_ to him. There was really no helping that boy.

If Rain had any tears left by this point, she would have shed them for Summer Rose, her greatest friend and, later on, her 'mother.' Out of the thousands of people Rain had known and loved, she missed Summer most of all.

A lingering pain in her chest brought back the memory of her own team of Huntresses, called team RWBY. She, as Ruby Rose, served as team leader and it was a fun challenge to use her vast knowledge and experience to win at nearly everything they set out to do, while at the same time maintaining a false front of the innocent 15-year old girl she was _supposed_ to be. She grinned as she thought back to Crescent Rose, her self-declared 'sweetheart' and combination scythe-sniper rifle. Fawning over it was a fun pastime that she kind of missed. It had fallen to rusty fragments about 200 years ago.

She missed Weiss Schnee. The stuck-up heiress was an easy target to latch onto and Ruby made the most of her acting skills while in her presence. Of course Ruby knew of the Schnee company (hell, she helped start it), and she managed to play off Weiss' personality flawlessly. Ruby winced as she remembered Weiss' final act of defiance - the heiress had thrown herself in between the enemy and a group of innocents, using the last of her aura to shield them until they could get to safety. She then launched a final spell that destroyed their attacking forces. She had passed away in the hospital later that night.

Ruby's chest puffed a little when she thought of Blake Belladonna, her faunas friend and the single greatest champion of faunas rights in the history of Remnant. She had almost single-handedly taken down the White Fang, a faunas-based terrorist organization that she had been involved with earlier in her life. After that, she had sat down with nearly every major leader of the human world and signed many, many treaties. It was thanks to her efforts that faunas rights were not only restored, but the rights of all races were actually secured through several long-term deals. Naturally this made Blake a prime target for assassinations, but none of them succeeded thanks to her background and physical conditioning as a huntress. But all the training in the world couldn't protect the woman against the worldwide energy surge that wiped out all life on Remnant.

Well, all but Rain that is.

If Summer Rose was Rain's closest friend, then Yang Xiao Long was right behind her in line. The two of them were nearly inseparable in their first few years together, even upon entering Beacon Academy. Aside from Weiss, there was no one Ruby would have rather had at her back in a tight situation. Yang was easily the best brawler Ruby had ever met, and that was _saying_ something. It had come as no surprise, then, when Yang decided to go into full-time Huntress work. She had loved it from the get-go. It pained Rain to think of how Yang had died, but in truth, there was no other way the blonde would have preferred to go out. Yang had gone down while fighting the single largest and oldest Grimm on the planet. But she had taken it _with_ her. From what Rain had heard, it was a glorious battle. The only positive thing Rain could think of regarding Yang's situation was that her sister never had to live through any of the war that followed only a few months after her death. The Final War.

Rain sat and looked out over the dead city. There were no tears in her eyes. She had run out of tears a long time ago. If there really was an afterlife for humanity, there were two things she knew: all of her friends were there now, celebrating their reunion and their new, everlasting peace ...and that she would never join them.

For the first time in nearly a hundred years, the dark sky began to open. A gentle rain cascaded down over the ruins.

The girl called Rain found that she did have a few tears left after all.

* * *

Once another hundred years had passed, a nearby cliff finally collapsed. Tons of rock gave way, falling in waves to the valley floor below.

But there was no one there to see it. Where the last girl on Remnant once sat was an imprint of a small bottom with no footprints leading away from it. Instead there was a blue-green crackle of energy that sparked and fizzed before disappearing.

* * *

 **In case you were wondering, while Rain was thinking of her old teammates, yes I did have her think of herself as Ruby again. Frequently.**

 **I mainly blame it on her attachment to the name that she has a hard time letting go of. She had gotten so used to calling herself Ruby that it was harder than she expected to go back to just being Rain. It's not 'cause I'm lazy. Really.**

 **Assuming my other works don't change things too much, I** _ **probably**_ **won't edit this chapter - but if I do, I'll let you know.**


	2. The Fighter

**Author's Note: This version of Ruby is not inspired by anything I have previously read, but on the 'concept' of a gender-swap universe. Any similarities to other works is purely coincidental.**

 **This is the second of a series of one-shots meant to look into various alternate realities of the RWBY universe. In this case, if the entire cast was gender-swapped. Obviously, there will be other differences as I see fit, so let's just see how it works out.**

 **I don't own RWBY in any way.**

* * *

It was late at night when the shop 'From Dust Till Dawn' was robbed.

Several women filed into the shop wearing identical black pantsuits and red-tinted sunglasses. They were followed by a woman who walked in wearing a white overcoat and a black bowler cap. She took a long drag from her cigar, tapping the embers onto the glass counter top. Her ginger hair hung loosely over the right side of her face as she said, "Do you have _any_ idea how hard it is to find a dust shop open _this_ late?" Her voice almost purred as she spoke, her one visible eye gleaming. She tapped a cane on the hard tile for emphasis.

"Please," the old lady behind the counter wheezed, "just take my lien and leave." She trembled violently, almost like she was moments from falling apart.

The ginger woman shushed her quickly, "Sh-sh-shh... calm down, I'm not here for your money." Green eyes turned to her associates. "Grab the dust." The women got to work filling the empty containers they had brought. Glass cylinders were filled with powder. Cases were lined with colored crystals. They left nothing behind.

One henchwoman spotted a potential snag: a customer in the back of the shop. It was a young boy, clearly in his mid-teens. His dark hair was almost black, but red highlights could be made out in the fluorescent lights. His bright red jacket stood out over his black jeans and red and black leather boots. The boy didn't even notice they were there, likely because of the large headphones he wore over his ear. Hell, even _she_ could hear the music. He just stood there absentmindedly thumbing through a magazine.

Tapping him on the shoulder, she demanded he put his hands in the air. He didn't hear her. After a few moments of random pointing and him removing the headphones, she tried again. This time the boy complied, lifting his hands up to eye level. The woman noticed his bracelets then - just before he jerked his hands back and they expanded, whirling and clicking until they turned into full-fledged gauntlets. The red and silver color scheme matched his clothes.

It only took a few moments before he had not only blasted the closest woman out of the plate glass window at the storefront, but also had taken down the half-dozen or so others that ran over to assist. The boy was a flurry of punches, frequently shooting behind him and using the momentum from the shots to launch himself forward. As the dust settled, the boy examined his work, seemingly satisfied that the assailants were ... _mostly_ unharmed, but they were down.

The ginger woman stepped out into the street, evidently finished with her cigar. She muttered to the fallen ladies, "Well _you_ were worth every cent, truly you were." She dropped the bundle of smoking weeds onto the pavement, cooing, "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening." She crushed the cigar with the cane, then slowly brought it up to aiming height. "And, as much as I'd like to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways." An aiming reticulate popped out of the end, revealing a gun barrel at the tip. The gloved hand squeezed the trigger, sending a large red flare right for the boy's face - which he easily shot down with a bullet from his own weapon.

As the cloud of dust settled, the mystery woman had vanished. The boy spotted movement on a nearby rooftop, orange hair and a black hat running by. _Dammit, why did it have to be a girl?_ He winced, slamming his armored fists together in a show of frustration. _I HATE fighting girls._

* * *

A woman was sitting in front of him, calm hazel eyes regarding him slowly. She wore a long, loose-fitting black skirt and a dark green dress shirt that was doing a ...bad job of keeping her ample chest from moving about. The black bodice wasn't helping matters either. The boy fidgeted in his chair, the sole light in the room casting glaring shadows in the corners. He found it hard to focus with such a... distraction before him. The only other occupant in the room, a tall blonde man with wire-rim glasses, was in no mood for foolishness. But then, a famous Hunter like Glen Goodwitch was never in a good mood for long. In his hands was a scroll playing a video feed of the boy's battle with the attempted burglars.

"So Signal Academy taught you one of the strongest martial arts styles ever conceived?" The woman in green pondered before taking a sip from her coffee mug. A large 'O' was emblazoned on the side. "And with such wonderful toys, too..."

"Well, one teacher in particular," the dark-haired boy offered. There was a pause.

"It's just that I've only ever seen one fighter use such a style before." The older woman looked to one side, as though looking into the past. Her steel-gray hair shone in the makeshift spotlight.

The boy snuck a smile, saying, "That's probably my mom, Taiyang. She only taught for one year, but she really got the fighting style ingrained in me early. Most of the time I just practice the basics and she works with me on refining it later." He didn't know _why_ his lips were suddenly loose, but it was nice to see that he even _could_ relax with such a good-looking (hot) woman in the room. "Yeah, I was nothing before she took me under her wing. Now I'm all-" and he proceeded to demonstrate with a series of 'Waahs' and 'Wa-chaas,' flailing his arms in karate-like poses.

"And what is a cute boy like yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?" The woman's hazel eyes were piercing, even in the dim light. Her smile was thin, but warm.

The boy froze, his inner monologue bursting at the seams to come out of his mouth. With visible effort, he managed to force it down and slowly say, "I want to be a Huntsman."

"You want to slay monsters." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," the boy nodded. _Might as well run with it._ "I only have two more years at Signal, then I'm going to apply to Beacon. My brother is starting there this year. My parents always taught us to help people, so I thought 'hey, why not make a career out of it?' and I've always thought Hunters and Huntresses are just so cool..." The boy looked down to adjust his jacket, painfully aware that he'd gotten a little carried away. There was no _way_ he could tell them the actual reason was so he could work up the courage to talk to girls...

The break in the conversation was awkward to say the least. The woman and Glen glanced at each other, a look of knowing passed between them. The woman spoke next, never failing to make direct eye contact. "Do you know who I am?"

"You're Professor Ozpin, the headmaster at Beacon," the boy fidgeted again, trying to become one with the chair.

"Hello." Ozpin steepled her fingers, looking over them with a calm certainty. "And you are Ruby Rose."

The dark-haired boy winced as though he'd been struck, "Could you not call me that, please? I _hate_ that name. It's ...a girl's name."

The blonde man _almost_ covered his snicker at the comment. Ozpin didn't bat an eye. "What would you prefer?"

Ruby Rose thought long and hard. If this was where he remade himself, it was important to get this right. His mind drifted to his earlier encounter with the ginger woman. She had called him... Red.

"Red Ryder."

* * *

"Unbelievable. This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about." The tall boy pinched his nose in irritation but his voice did not raise. His bright white hair did not bounce around as he shook his head since it was greased back too well. The dust and ash were slow to dissipate from his crisp white outfit. Seeing as how he had just been in a small dust explosion, both he and the red-themed new arrival were lucky it wasn't any worse.

The boy, now called Red Ryder, looked very whipped as he said, "I'm really really sorry..."

A sigh, "You're a complete moron, aren't you ? What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" The boy in white gazed at him with piercing, ice-blue eyes. Red was at a loss for words as he'd never seen anything them before. That, and he _definitely_ didn't want to try and explain that Ozpin herself had allowed it after a ...really exciting night. The fact that he was here a full two years early had not been lost on the boy, and the ride on the airship was nothing if not ...eventful. He'd never seen a girl puke like that blonde one did...

Other words were said, but Red had already started tuning out. The boy in white walked away when he had finished, obviously annoyed, but Red still couldn't figure out who he even _was._

Another boy behind him, this one with black hair, golden yellow eyes, and a dark gray knit cap, spoke up, "That was Weiss Schnee, heir of the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." His black ensemble seemed to let the boy blend in to the background so he had snuck up behind Red easily.

Red looked over at him, then back at the retreating form of Weiss, then said, "So... a rich boy."

The newcomer nodded, "Yep." He offered a hand. "Blake."

"Red," he said, shaking the hand.

* * *

Red stood on the stage next to his new partner for the next four years, Weiss Schnee. Next to them stood the black-garbed boy from this morning and _his_ new partner, the one-and-only Yang Xiao Long. Yang stood as tall as most of the teachers, with glowing blonde hair he kept tied back in a ponytail. His lavender eyes were nearly always half-open, giving the impression that he was almost asleep at all times. His weapon rested at his back in compact form, called Crescent Dragon. It could unfold into a high-caliber sniper rifle and, from there, into a _large_ scythe. Wielders of that particular weapon were few and far between, which gave Yang a major advantage when it came to the student hierarchy.

Ozpin, who had been announcing new teams up until this point, turned to give the four students a smile. "Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, and _Red_ Ryder," Red couldn't help but notice the emphasis placed on his new name, "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as... team RWBY."

Red was lost in thought again, thinking about who would be team leader. It was most likely to be either Yang or Weiss - the boy in white was _clearly_ a strong candidate with his exceptional Dust handling abilities and sharp mind, and Yang was, as stated before, a rare prodigy. The fact that it was Yang's blade that took the head of the Nevermore was further claim for his leadership. Certainly he would...

"Led by... _Red_ Ryder." Again with the emphasis.

To say that any of the four expected this result would be to say that a stone flies in circles. Four jaws dropped, then three sets of eyes turned to regard their new 15-year-old leader. Red had checked out, silver eyes glazing over, but he was brought back to reality by his older brother's arm wrapping around his shoulders in a hug. "I'm so proud of you," he said in a quiet but firm tone. His eyes almost danced in admiration. "I like the new name, too."

Red didn't see it before, but this was the same look Yang had in his eyes two other times; once when Red had given them and a few others a good pep talk before fighting the Grimm during initiation, and again when the younger boy had come up with the plan to kill the giant Nevermore. Sure Yang had made the kill, but without a plan they likely would have suffered a far worse defeat.

* * *

CLANG!

The sound of the Ursa's claws bouncing off of Jean's shield rang out through the woods of Forever Fall. The blonde girl wore mostly casual clothes, such as a jacket and blue jeans; over this, however, was a set of handcrafted steel armor. The sword and shield combo was rather inadequate when compared to the modern transforming weaponry of other Hunters, but that didn't mean much to their current wielder.

Behind the smaller girl was a taller, older looking teen with short brown hair. She, too, wore some armor plates, but they had the feeling of secondhand junk that anyone could find in a flea market. The owner of this armor was certainly not feeling like her usual brutish self right now, having been attacked after a major slip up with some tree sap - only to be saved by the very person she had been bullying non-stop for several weeks.

No words were said during the fight. Jean, the smaller blonde girl, struggled to ward off the Ursa's claws before slashing it's face with the sword. The two combatants exchanged blows for a while, Jean's Aura taking more damage than she wanted - but since Peter Nikos had only unlocked it during initiation, that was to be expected. Regardless, this had to end. Jean charged, shield raised, sword ready - the Ursa barreled forward with front claws held high.

Peter watched from a nearby bush. Seeing the chance, he 'pulled' Jean's shield up into position for a proper block. Jean's sword quickly removed the Grimm's head from it's body.

Jean Arc had been the clumsy newcomer to Beacon who nearly died during initiation. She was now a force to be reckoned with.

Red, who had been watching the exchange next to Peter, shivered. _I better stay on her GOOD side. Hate to think what that sword would do to me if she gets pissed..._

* * *

Before him sat Ramona Torchwick, master criminal and the ginger woman from before, surrounded by a legion of White Fang goons. Above them, a few bulwarks circled as air support and potential getaway vehicles.

Next to him was an even scarier sight: Percy Polendina. Red's mind returned to an old movie he had watched a few years ago about a killer robot from the future that had been sent back in time. Percy looked _just_ like that character, albeit _more_ disturbing since his giant, muscular body was tightly squeezed into a white and blue sailor uniform that was much too small. He also wore sunglasses for some reason. The man (thing?) regarded Red and said, in a seriously deep, macho voice, "DON'T WORRY, FRIEND RED! I'M COMBAT READY!" He then began to fire red lasers from his eyes. Red didn't remember anything that happened after that...

* * *

The sight that met the young Red's eyes was one he would not soon forget. A line of truly massive Grimm, called Goliaths, marched through the woods some distance from their vantage point at the edge of Mountain Glenn. Profe- er, Doctor Oobleck spoke more slowly than she had all day, her eyes hidden behind her thick glasses as she said, "Red, not every Grimm is mindless; rather not every Grimm is _still_ mindless." She turned to look out over the distance again. "You see the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you've fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years."

There was more said, but the boy had already tuned her out, thinking _I never thought I'd meet a Grimm that scares me more than dealing with women..._

* * *

The two figures walked through the ruined city while the teacher solemnly said, "I am a Huntress ...because there is nothing in this world ... I would rather be." She gave the boy a sideways smile, forcing him to wonder what was on her mind.

* * *

Time had slowed to a crawl for Ruby 'Red' Rose. Sure he was on a runaway train full of explosives. Sure the cars were breaking away one-by-one and blowing holes in the tunnel to let in hordes of Grimm. Sure they were fighting for their lives against the White Fang. But that wasn't _his_ problem.

Before running off to fight the assault mechs, Doctor Oobleck had kissed him on the forehead for luck.

A woman had kissed him.

A woman.

Red wanted to die from that alone.

Then all at once, time came to a full stop. The tunnel walls froze in place, still in a strange motion blur as though still moving. All around him, his team remained completely still. Ahead was the end of the tunnel and beyond that was ...well, if Red understood right, beyond was the unguarded city center. The whole point of their mission was to stop the train from breaching Vale, but it was clear that mission had failed. Yang, Blake and Weiss had appeared on the roof of the train next to Red in defeat, but still alive. Until this moment, however, Red had been certain that being alive was almost over.

 _[If you do nothing more, that is what will transpire.]_

Red's mouth failed him. There was a voice in his head and he couldn't even respond. He wanted to ask who it was, but there were no words. There were no other noises around him.

 _[Who I am is unimportant. The question is: who are you?]_

Okay, so it reads minds. _Well,_ he thought, _I can do that. What do you mean who am-_

 _[Are you a warrior or a pretender?]_

Miffed, he thought, _What kind of a question is-_

 _[A hero, or a coward?]_

Red paused, unsure of how to answer.

 _[You lack the courage to do what is necessary. To overcome your obstacles. To face your greatest fear. Without that courage, the four of you will not survive the coming battle.]_

There was no need to continue. Red's face flushed as he knew exactly what fear the voice was talking about. _But how do I do it? What do I lack?_

 _[Come with me, and I shall show you. Stay, and you face certain death.]_

If this was a joke, it wasn't funny. Go with an otherworldly voice to gods knew where or stay and die. It wasn't a _choice_.

 _I'll go._

A blinding flash of light erupted from behind him, and Red turned to see everything wash away as he disappeared into the radiance. Only a small spark of blue-green energy remained where he once stood.

 _[Six-Nine-Seven-One, transfer confirmed. Heh, they'll have fun with this one.]_

* * *

 **Okay, so the point here was to show that Red's story is pretty much the same as Ruby's with a few key differences made mention of - I didn't drag it out since you guys already know what happens (right?). Once he nears the breach at the end of volume 2, though, that's when something odd occurs... but I won't spoil it yet.**

 **If any of you are familiar with the anime "My Bride is a Mermaid" then you might know the image I was thinking of when I described a male Penny. If not, google image search "my bride is a mermaid edomae papa" and you'll see him.**


	3. The Lover

**Author's Note: This version of Ruby was inspired by "Cocoa with a Dash of Red" by jin0uga. As usual, my intention is to create a version of Ruby that is 'inspired' by existing works, not to copy them.**

 **The goal here is to give you a look into an alternate universe where people are not where they should be - I fired up the randomizer and set it for 'students.' This means most characters that count as students will randomly change ages and schools. This allows greater variety of team construction. There will be other changes, so read on if you're interested.**

 **Sorry if the last chapter seemed a bit jumbled or rushed. I didn't take a lot of time to edit the thing before I posted it.**

 **I don't own RWBY in any way. Also, to be clear, I _don't_ hate Coco Adel.  
**

* * *

Ruby Rose never considered herself a cross-dresser. That was just _their_ opinion.

For the first several years of her life, both she and Yang were as girly as you could imagine. Both sisters loved wearing frilly skirts and playing with dolls. Over time, though, Yang began changing her tastes - she soon donned her trademark shorts and began beating up the neighborhood boys. Ruby wanted to follow her example, but daddy was loathe to see both of his little girls go 'butch,' ...whatever _that_ meant. Regardless of what they were told, Yang continued down her path with her little sister right at her heels.

Ruby started dressing differently the year Yang went off to Beacon, which was two years ago now. She switched from a leather bodice and combat skirt to a t-shirt and denim jeans and swapped out her leather boots for sneakers. Of course, she didn't go _fully_ into the men's clothing section - she actually began to develop a serious fashion sense and began exploring this vast, new world with little hesitation. Halter tops, blouses, cardigans, corsets, you name it - she tried it all. And don't even get her started on the shoes. Regardless of her experiments, Ruby's preference remained with pants rather than skirts.

In addition to the outfit, Ruby had begun regular physical exercise to supplement her already significant combat abilities. After all, if you can't keep swinging the scythe, then the fight's not going to last long, is it? Since she lived with her father, Taiyang Xiao Long, and nobody else for those entire two years, Ruby was never given any input on her appearance other than her own. The fact that Yang never seemed to make it home for vacations and holidays made it rather lonely around the house, too.

* * *

Having caught the eye of Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, back in Vale during an attempted robbery that she foiled, Ruby was pretty much guaranteed entry into the prestigious school. Hell, if she hadn't _insisted_ on finishing her last two years at Signal Academy first, she would have been sent to Beacon _right then_ along with Yang. That would have been fun, but she would have been sorely unprepared.

Now, two years later, it was time. Seventeen-year-old Ruby Rose had arrived at Beacon Academy.

She had on a black short-sleeve blouse with an embroidered red rose emblem over the left breast, a pair of dark-red Capri pants, and a well-worn pair of running shoes - it was the only pair she had that was not either too dressy for a combat school or already wrecked. Frankly she hated them, but what can ya do? Over her shoulders was draped a deep red scarf. At her back was Crescent Rose or, as she called it, her 'sweetheart.' As she gazed up at the towers of the school, she was overcome with a sense of wonder, of anticipation, and of awe... or she could just be dizzy, it was hard to tell.

Soon, dizziness won the fight and the redhead began to stumble, falling backwards for exactly six inches before she was met by a pair of small but surprisingly strong hands gripping her arms and helping her back to her feet. A voice purred into her ear, "Hey now, no passing out until the opening ceremony's over, 'kay?" Ruby turned to see another young girl, no older than herself, standing there. Like Ruby, this girl was also lugging a suitcase, which meant she was also a new first year student.

Where Ruby's favorite color was red, this girl clearly liked brown. Her trousers, beret, waist cincher, and high-heeled leather boots were all dark brown; not to mention the light brown shirt and multi-shade brown hair - the one large bang on the side of her face faded from darker brown to a light brown as it got to the tip. Ruby couldn't help but stare. It was kinda cool.

The girl looked over her sunglasses to give Ruby a once-over and smiled, then held out her free hand. "Coco Adel."

Without missing a beat, Ruby took the hand. "Ruby Rose."

* * *

A few days later, Ruby stood on a stage in front of the entire school - at least that's how it looked to her. Next to her was Coco Adel, her partner for the next four years according to Ozpin's rules. Just beside her stood two other students who were called up at the same time: a girl with red hair and olive eyes wearing shoulder armor, and a smaller girl with short black hair wearing a blue beret with a white shirt. A somewhat strange look, but who was she to judge?

Ozpin spoke, "Ruby Rose, Coco Adel, Octavia Ember, Ciel Soliel. The four of you managed to acquire the white bishop pieces. You will henceforth be known as team ROCC, led by... Ruby Rose."

A mix of reactions. Ciel, the girl in blue and white, was noticeably shocked. Octavia, the redhead, seemed amused for some reason. Ruby would find out later that the two of them had a bet going. Coco could only laugh and pat her partner on the back. Ruby was not available for comment so please leave your name and number and she'll get back to you as soon as she wakes up from this dream. Coco graciously wiped the drool from Ruby's mouth with a hanky. The girl's silver eyes were glazed over.

A loud whooping snapped the girl out of her reverie - she looked out into the audience to see a familiar blonde mane jumping up and down, waving and smiling from ear to ear. "WAY TO GO SIS! _WOOO!_ "

* * *

"Okay, this is Sky Lark and Emerald Sustrai..." the two teens standing next to Yang waved meekly. Ruby felt a pang of empathy for the sole guy on a team of girls - especially when one of the girls was Yang Xiao Long. "And this is Weiss Schnee, ... _my_ partner," Yang patted the shorter girl on the shoulder, white hair bouncing from the impact.

"Don't you mean your _leader?_ " The girl folder her arms irritably. She couldn't hide her smirk very well, though. Ruby allowed herself only one full second to take in the Schnee girl's ensemble; never before had she seen someone pull off a _completely_ white look before. It was kind of impressive.

"Yeah, yeah," the blonde brawler looked back to Ruby, "so this is team WYSE. Pretty cool, huh?" Yang could hardly hold still as she bounced back and forth in front of the two teams. "Not that yours isn't cool too, ya know. I mean your team name ... _ROCCs!_ " She spread her hands for dramatic impact.

No one reacted. Crickets could be heard chirping in the background.

(A/N: I regret nothing)

Emerald, the girl with jade green hair, spoke up first. "Okay, that was ...worse than usual." The blonde simply razberried in response. _Yeah, real mature Yang._ Ruby's eyes rolled a bit at her sister's antics.

After a bit more gib-gab, the two teams made their way to their dormitories. Before they parted ways, Emerald shot over to Ruby and said, "Hey, uh... can I... can I have your Scroll number?" Her face clearly betrayed some nervousness. "Maybe we can hang out sometime ...or, I dunno, train together ...?"

"Um, ...okay sure!" Ruby cheerfully responded. She failed to notice four sets of eyes darting her way as she brought up the numbers for Emerald.

The Schnee girl walked over next, stating, "As a fellow team leader, I feel I should give you _my_ number as well." She hit a few buttons on her device. "It's always good to have an emergency contact if you get in trouble, you know." More button pressing, followed by a ding from both scrolls.

Coco slid over to Ruby's side, voice as smooth as silk. "Since we're on the subject, shouldn't we as _team members_ all exchange our numbers?" This was followed by more beeping and button pressing that went on for a few minutes. Once that was done, the eight students waved their goodbyes and set off for their dorm rooms. Four of the eight still had to unpack, after all. There were grins all around. This was going to be a fun year.

Had she looked, Ruby might have wondered why several of the scrolls had her number saved as a favorite - and why they had a photo of _her_ as their background image.

* * *

To put it simply, the rest of Ruby's first year was ... _interesting_.

First of all, her sweetheart got a major renovation. With Coco as her partner and sister-in-arms, Ruby was transported into a whole new world of shooty things. The sniper mechanism, while still awesome in it's own right, was the first thing to go - it was quickly replaced by a multi-barrel machine cannon not unlike Coco's own weapon, but not as large. It was smaller and had a shorter range, but since she set it to only fire in short bursts, accuracy was not as hard to come by. Ruby lent some advice to Coco as well, and the taller girl was more than happy to make a few tweaks to her own firearm. The new and improved Crescent Rose (which she called Mark II) was noticeably bulkier but, thanks to some frame improvements, kept the same weight.

Team WYSE and team ROCC were together quite often, despite the two-year gap in ages. The only things they _didn't_ do together, it seemed, was sleeping in the same room and missions. Emerald seemed to have taken a shine to Ruby, requesting that the two of them duel on numerous occasions. Most of the time Ruby felt like the green-haired girl simply liked being around her. Weiss took it upon herself to frequently invite Ruby to have 'study sessions' with other team leaders outside of class time, but she always felt like the heiress was paying special attention to her. Sky didn't seem to care _what_ they did, so long as they left him out of it.

Yang was a bit of a mystery. While the blonde had grown a fair bit herself in two years (though still with the same outfit), Ruby didn't think her own change was _that_ surprising... yet she often found her sister staring at her when her back was turned. It was almost as if Yang was staring at her ...backside. Ruby's own team was not much better, going as far as making their leader introduce new rules _limiting_ how many photos they could take of her at certain times of day. It was nice that they thought she looked good, but _come on!_

Her biggest issue was with her workout time. She had actually enjoyed lifting weights back home, but then again, back home there was just dad. Here... well, she had a _fan club_. She couldn't even get through her first week of workouts without being hounded by the school paparazzi. It boggled her mind to think that she was worth taking _that_ many pictures of, no matter that she was just a first year. She had to start having her workouts either at random or late at night to avoid unwanted attention. It only occurred to the scythe wielder a few times that all of her 'fans' were girls.

Finally, Coco had taken to just calling her Rose. She _said_ it was a nickname. It didn't take long for the rest of team ROCC to follow suit, as well as team WYSE. By the time she had nearly finished her first year at Beacon Academy, the whole school just called her Rose.

* * *

"I think Emerald's got a crush on you."

Rose coughed into her shake, the strawberry bits threatening to come out of her nose. "Wha-what?" She sniffed, wiping her nose with her free hand. There was melted cream on her glove. "What do you mean, ...crush?" Sure the green-haired girl was a good friend and they already hung out together a lot, but...

Coco gave her partner a sideways look, annoyance clear in her brown eyes. "I mean 'crush' ...as in 'likes you.'" She gave her mocha frappe a sip, not wincing in the slightest at the cold. "She's been into you from the start, you know. I could tell." She broke eye contact, mentally adding _I was, too_.

Once she cleaned herself up, Rose sighed deeply. Her shoulders sunk under the weight of this new information. Her red scarf was still draped over her shoulders, now accenting a light gray halter top with dark red pin-striping up the middle. She wore red knee-length pants and a new pair of leather boots Coco had helped pick out (after the sad shoes that she had first showed up in caused Coco to have a mild panic attack). She also wore a pair of fingerless black fabric gloves and a small number of necklaces that resembled Coco's own. As per school rules, Rose did not carry CR-II (shortened from 'Crescent Rose Mark-Two') around town with her, but she wore a wide leather belt that held the spare magazines for it. _Those_ were okay.

Coco still wore all brown: today she sported a dark brown long-sleeved blouse over dark khaki pants, along with her usual beret. She had a cream-colored vest over the shirt that matched the lighter part of her hair. Most of her accessories were still there, but she opted to leave off the cincher - as a result, her midriff would occasionally peek out under the shirt. It was hard not to notice, as Coco was easily one of the prettiest girls Rose had ever met. And no, she hadn't said so. Not _yet_ , anyway.

"Sooo... whaddya think?" Coco crossed her legs as they sat on the bench. The city of Vale was moving on as it always did, waiting for nobody. Her boots bobbed as she spoke. "She _is_ pretty cute... you gonna go for it?"

Rose scoffed, "She's also a third year while I'm a first year ...and she's a _girl!_ " She nearly spit the last part out.

Coco flinched. "What's ...wrong ...with that? Plenty of girls date other girls around here..." She sipped her drink again, eyeing her partner with caution and thinking, _Oh crap, is she ...not into girls? Did I misjudge? But that can't be, I mean she's practically a..._

"I'm not a guy, Coco. I don't..." Another sigh, Rose looked at her open palms. "That isn't me. That's not what I want."

That was when the panic began to set in. Coco had been keeping herself under control for nearly a full year, despite what she could only see as _teasing_ from the girl in the red scarf. The friendly smiles, the playful laughs, the... the... _touching_. Rose was constantly grabbing Coco's hand when they walked around the town, and even in the school at times. She'd never forget the night they had a sleepover with team WYSE and Rose fell asleep on Coco's shoulder. Never in a million years would she forget how the girl looked while she slept. So innocent. So vulnerable. She certainly noticed that the other occupants of the room got an eyeful of the sight.

It definitely didn't help that Rose was considered hotter than every other guy at school, a fact that was not lost on any of the female students. For them, pictures of Ruby Rose during her workout sessions was a hot item. The damp hair, skin glittering with sweat, the chiseled abs, and that scrumptious butt...

 _...No, bad Coco! Bad thoughts! Need to focus!_

Rose had already gotten up to walk away, and Coco was quick to join her. "You know," she started, "...uh, there are ...o-o-other options." Great, now she was stuttering? What was she, _twelve?!_ "There's actually a lot of ...uh, p-p-people at the school who... uh, ...ah dammit." The brown-eyed girl couldn't believe she was at a loss for words. That _never_ happened.

Rose didn't bat an eye. "I know, a lot of _girls_. Come on, Coco, as much as I'm flattered by the attention, ... _I just don't swing that way_." She kept walking, oblivious to the darkening expression on her partner's face.

Those six words echoed in the taller girl's head. Louder and louder. All thoughts washed away at the coming of those six little words. _I just don't swing that way_.

Something in Coco Adel's mind snapped.

The girl caught up to Rose a few seconds later and put on her best smile saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry I made you feel weird." The smile got bigger. Too big. Coco pointed to a shop on a corner, "Let's stop in there before we head back, okay? I wanna pick up something for the guys."

The girl in red looked a little confused but had no real reason to doubt her partner. "Oh...kay," she said as she followed the girl in brown across the street and into the shop. The sun had just set behind the horizon, taking the reds and oranges of sunset along with it. Rose didn't notice that Coco had simply _dropped_ what was left of her drink back on the sidewalk - if she did, she _might_ have been more cautious.

* * *

It was 4 minutes 'til 10 when green hair peeked into the dorm, saying, "Has Rose come back yet?"

Emerald's face was calm, but the occasional twitch of her mouth gave away her growing anxiety. Ciel checked her watch, ever aware of the time (ROCC was lucky to have her; they hadn't been late once all year). "She was due back on the last transport, and that was almost an hour ago." She looked up at the older girl, blue eyes filled with certainty. "They're probably just talking. You know how Coco is." Octavia nodded, barely looking up from her novel.

Red eyes narrowed with hostility, "Yeah, I _know_ how she is..." The door almost slammed as she walked away, trying her scroll again. She'd been at it for the last 30 minutes with no response.

Finally she tried a different number. "Yang... we may have a problem..."

* * *

10:17. The only lights on the sidewalk were dim streetlamps. The shop windows were as dark as the night sky. There was no traffic at this time of night, and for that Rose was quite upset. She ran down the street, gasping for breath as she sought a light, an open door, anywhere she could escape.

"Ro-o-ose?" A sing-song-y voice called behind her. "Where a-a-are yo-o-u?" Or was it in front of her? There was the panic again, giving Rose the needed haste to get her feet moving.

Coco had lost it. The shop they had gone into was almost completely empty and the taller girl had wasted no time before tackling her to the floor and trying to do... _things_ to her. If the kiss hadn't been so rough, Rose might have _enjoyed_... no, what was she thinking? Coco had turned out to be a lot stronger than she looked and if not for her basic self-defense training, Rose would have been completely at her partner's mercy. Her boots thumped loudly across the empty plaza as she ran, hoping she was at least heading for the airship docks. Maybe there'd be a spare transport she can take back to Beacon...

"You can't run fore-e-eve-e-er." More singing. Rose turned a corner ...and ran straight into the open arms of Coco Adel.

"Aw, you _do_ care!" That smile now stretched past her ears as Coco gripped Rose in a serious bear hug. The smaller girl's vision began to swim.

"I was _starting_ to think..." her grip got tighter.

"...That you _might_ not..." tighter again.

"... _ **LIKE** ME ANYMORE!_ " Coco almost roared the last few words. Rose could swear she felt her vertebrae beginning to separate with a sick popping sound. She could barely make out Coco's face, those brown eyes stretched into a look of insanity.

All at once, the arms relaxed and Rose was gently embraced, gasping for precious oxygen. Coco's gloved hand caressed her hair as the taller girl said, "Do you have _any_ idea how many of those lovesick girls back at school I had to threaten to keep away from you? Do you know how many of them would have ... _taken_ you in your sleep?" The brown-haired girl gave her best how-could-you-? expression. "But you're safe now. I'll never let them have you! You're mine, understand? _MINE!_ _ALL MINE!_ " That powerful hand had now moved to her throat, cutting off Rose's air supply and jerking with each 'mine' that came out.

Mere moments before she passed out, Rose heard what sounded like a gunshot followed by a flash of blonde hair. She registered the feeling of arms letting go and her limp body falling to the concrete, and then nothing.

* * *

...

When she came to, Rose did not open her eyes. She didn't want to.

...

What went wrong? All she wanted was a normal life at the hunters academy. Normal friends. Normal classes. Normal missions. A _normal_ partner. What did she do to deserve this?

 _[The bigger question is: what will you do to fix this?]_

Okay, what?

Rose opened her eyes to find herself in a photograph. At least, that was her first thought. All around her was a scene from an action movie that had been paused. Coco was in a defensive position in response to a frozen flare from Yang's weapon. Her face was twisted into a mixture of rage and madness. The blonde was still charging forward, eyes bright red and hair glowing. Emerald was a ways behind Yang, apparently looking at where Rose had landed and starting to make her way over with a worried expression on her face. There was no motion at all.

And the pain was gone. Rose only noticed after all of this that the dizzy feeling of having her spine crushed into powder was no longer there.

 _[I offer you a choice.]_

Her mouth didn't respond, but her thoughts seemed to work fine. _Okay, I'm listening._

 _[You can come with me to a different world. A safer world. There you can learn that which you need to make this right. There you can grow as a leader and find yourself as a person.]_

 _Or...?_

 _[Or you can remain here. Once time resumes, someone_ will _die.]_

... _And I can prevent... that ...if I go with you?_ _What about them?_

 _[They will remain here while you're gone. When you're ready, I will return you to this place and time. To this exact moment.]_

...

... _Okay, I'll go. As messed up as this is, I don't want to see anyone die. Besides, it's not like that's a real_ choice.

...

... _But I need my sweetheart with me!_

Rose could almost _feel_ the voice smiling behind her, _[Of course.]_

As she turned, her eyes were met with a blinding flash of light. She was engulfed in a blue-green wave of energy, then she vanished. The still-frozen forms of her partner, her sister, and her best friend remained stationary.

 _[Two-Seven-Eight-Nine, transfer confirmed.]_

* * *

 **Okay, wow... yandere Coco anyone? No? Me either.**

 **This chapter is a great example of how you can start out with a specific idea, but it gets changed almost completely by the time you get done. I had intended to make this Ruby as a girl who _did_ swing 'that way,' but she turned out this way instead ( _I_ think it's better like this).**

 **Feel free to drop a review!**


	4. The Soldier

**Author's Note: This version of Ruby is not based on anything I have previously read. Any resemblance to other writers' work is a complete coincidence. Though it** _ **would**_ **be pretty cool...**

 **In this chapter, I'm exploring the possibility of a RWBY-verse where characters are placed in different locations, or 'roles' - adults switch with students, students switch schools, older switch with younger - among other things. Unlike chapter 3, this time I'm randomizing** _ **everybody**_ **...almost.  
**

 **Also, thanks to everyone who's favorited these stories so far! Nice to know you enjoy them!**

 **I don't own RWBY in any way.**

* * *

 _To my dearest Sapphire,_

 _I hope this letter finds you well. It is unfortunate, but I must keep this brief as I only have  
a short time to write to you. Were time not an object, I would love to disclose everything  
that has happened thus far but I know neither you nor I have such a luxury._

 _I am healthy and well, and my studies go very smoothly. The teachers all treat me nicely,  
as do most of my fellow pupils. The subjects I study vary greatly, shifting between combat  
strategies one day to Grimm Studies the next. I love it all and have found no small joy in  
learning all the new information._

 _My teammates send their regards as well. Dew and Ilia took me shopping in Vale last week  
and we purchased a whole new wardrobe. I can't wait to show you, I had so much fun.  
Raven is her usual anti-social self, but even she couldn't help but smile at our antics. I feel  
she is close to coming out of her shell and will soon join us in the sunshine._

 _As much as I'm enjoying my time at Beacon Academy, I do miss you. I'm looking forward  
to seeing you at the Vytal Festival Tournament next month._

 _Your loving sister,_

 _Glynda_

* * *

The young woman set the folded piece of paper down on the table next to her and took a sip of tea. The liquid was still very hot, so she didn't drink much. She gazed out over the vast expanse of stars, leaning back in her metal patio chair to better take in the spectacle. Her _proper_ name was Sapphire Schnee. She was known to the public as the eldest daughter of the Schnee Dust Company and Specialist of the Atlesian Army.

It had only been a few months since she discovered that her _true_ name was Ruby Rose. _And_ that she was adopted.

Sapphire crossed her legs, her thick boots swaying with the movement. Her clean white jacket and pants seemed to glow in the dim light cast by the windows to her back. She laced her gloved fingers together in thought, bringing her elbows to rest on the arms of her chair. She closed her eyes. The memory of her mother's face returned then, her lavender eyes downcast in shame. Evidently it was due to her own difficulty in bearing children that she and Sapphire's father had sought to adopt - but it was a hard search, since _he_ wanted only the best and brightest.

He had to settle for a little girl with dark red hair and silver eyes.

That hair now bore a streak of pure white down the front, a visible sign of Sapphire's success at learning the Schnee family's semblance. The girl had become one of them, much to everyone's delight. It was only after this happened that her mother had finally become pregnant, later giving birth to a blonde baby girl she named Glynda.

And just like that, Sapphire was _almost_ abandoned again. Thank the _gods_ for Glynda.

As much as their parents tried to dote everything on the newest member of the Schnee family, they couldn't be around _all_ the time - and the little blonde girl soon discovered that it was much more fun to hang out with her big sister Sapphire. The initial feelings of anger and jealously quickly surrendered to a childish, big-sister kind of love. Before long the two were spending all of their free time together, a fact that filled their mother with joy. Their father, however, was less than pleased...

"Is that another letter from Miss Glynda?" A rough voice interrupted the woman's thoughts.

She smiled and nodded to the paper, "Yes, she sends her greetings. She's doing quite well there." She took another sip of the tea, the heat having dissipated enough to allow a heartier swallow.

The man to whom that voice belonged was Peter Port, the slightly overweight butler of the Schnee family. He wasn't as top-notch at his job as most of the employees of her father's company, but his saving grace was his way with children. Neither parent would have anybody else taking care of their most valuable possessions, after all. "I do hope she comes home soon. I've missed her terribly." The older man set a tray of sandwiches down next to the tea. His mustache spread long over his face as he smiled kindly.

Her silver eyes gleamed in the starlight. "I, too, look forward to seeing her again. It _has_ been too long." She followed with a quiet sigh.

There was a pause of several moments. "Well," Peter cleared his throat lightly, "I'd best return to my duties." He turned on his heel and returned inside, quietly closing the glass door behind him. Sapphire looked out into the sky again, her thoughts returning to the past.

If her father, Jacques Schnee, was annoyed with his daughters spending too much time playing together, then he was even _less_ pleased when Sapphire announced that she wished to apply to Atlas Academy. She certainly had plenty of support, what with the name of Schnee behind her and all, but it meant leaving the safety of their mansion for the outside world. Glynda _really_ didn't want her to go, but after a bit of talking, even she was convinced. The creatures of Grimm were scary to be sure, but big sister Sapphire was going out there to fight against them. She was going to become a hero.

The eldest daughter of the Schnee family didn't like to think that her absence might be a source of _relief_ to her father. After all, ...she _was_ adopted.

Her time at Atlas Academy began with a major event - her initiation. Unlike what Glynda's letters of Beacon described, the entry into Atlas depended on one thing: impressing the combat instructor, Qrow Branwen, in a one-on-one duel. Not only did Sapphire impress the man, she actually landed a serious blow on him. All using a sword/short sword combination she wasn't even _familiar_ with. For the first time in all of his years at the school, Qrow demonstrated his deepest respect for a first-year student in the only way he knew how - he gave the younger girl his own sword. This was unprecedented, as nearly all weapons were hand-forged by their intended wielders. He set out to train the girl in the use of the weapon himself, making sure she was the best sword-slinger Atlas had even seen. It wasn't until she graduated that Sapphire learned the underlying reason for Qrow's actions; he had already planned on retiring and felt the Schnee girl deserved a chance to take up his 'mantle,' such as it was.

Sitting on her family home's second-floor balcony, bathing in the starlight, Sapphire ran a finger over the frame of Qrow's weapon. _Her_ weapon. She marveled at the craftsmanship, noting all of the gears at the hilt of the wide, segmented blade. He must have spent a lot of time on this. The scythe form was powerful to be sure, but the simpler sword form held a special place in her heart. The sword form was best suited for man-to-man combat and duels while the scythe form was most effective at turning Grimm into piles of black ash. She never used the built-in shotgun very much, preferring close-range combat instead. The woman had long ago changed out the few deep red parts, such as the leather wrap on the handle, with parts of a deep blue. She liked blue.

Sapphire stood up with a light grunt. She grabbed the letter as she turned to re-enter the house, opening the bottom to read the P.S. that was hastily written. She and Glynda had come up with special pet names they only used for each other; Sapphire called her little sister 'Starlight,' and her own nickname was written on the letter. Silver eyes gleamed as a smile grew beneath them.

 _P.S. - I love you, Snowflake._

* * *

[ ONE WEEK LATER ]

* * *

How did it all go _so wrong?_

The emergency signal had come in only three days prior. General Mercury Black had sent a squadron of his best troops to evacuate a mountain village that was being threatened by a Grimm invasion. It was a standard operation and everyone knew what had to be done. Sapphire Schnee's presence was mainly meant to be a morale booster, but her combat prowess was respected enough that all of the soldiers _knew_ they'd get home without incident.

That was before the ambush. It had all been a trap.

Insurgents in white masks had shot down their transports almost as soon as they'd landed. Nearly half a dozen men fell to the first barrage of gunfire, and many more were wounded in the following battle. Mortar rockets were landing all around them, slowly picking them off. As much as they tried, the forces of the Atlas military were unable to break through the assault.

That was when the Grimm came. Dozens of giant Nevermores flew down from out of nowhere, taking out large numbers of both Atlesian and White Fang soldiers with their feather projectiles. Giant Ursai broke through the outer perimeters, followed by multitudes of Beowulf and a few King Taijutsu. What had once been a one-sided military ambush had turned into pure _chaos_.

Sapphire had taken down numerous Grimm and several White Fang before taking the hit. Her leg was badly wounded and no amount of Aura could fix it in time to make any difference. She knelt in the snow, breathing hard and sweating in spite of the frigid air. Somewhere along the line, she had also injured her arm. She couldn't tell _how_ , though. It was likely scratched by the fang of the King Taijutsu she had just relieved of both of it's heads. Her hair hung loose over her face, mangled and wet with a mixture of sweat and blood. Her arm throbbed; yes, it was likely poison.

A large Beowulf spotted her and began lumbering her way, ignoring the battles around it. There was only 'Grimm' and 'human.' No one else mattered. Hard silver eyes locked with glowing red ones. The monster was on her, raising one massive claw to bring the woman's life on Remnant to an end...

...

And it didn't bring the claw down.

In fact, _everything_ stopped moving.

Sapphire could only look around in shock. Bullets had stopped in midair, swords froze mid-swing, and Grimm held steady in a midair leap. There was no noise; even the wind was waiting on something to happen. The girl tried to speak, but her voice had evidently also quit working.

A strangely familiar voice called out to her, only audible inside her head. _[Do you wish to live?]_

She considered that. It was the duty of a soldier to put their life on the line for the sake of king and country. It was considered an _honor_ to die in battle. But there was more at stake than mere honor for Sapphire...

 _[...You would be leaving someone behind, wouldn't you?]_

Someone who didn't, and wouldn't, understand the matters of life and death as she did.

 _[Someone who is still waiting for you to come back.]_

A young girl with blonde hair and thin, wire-frame glasses who's heart would break into a thousand pieces at the news of her big sister's death. Sapphire simply _couldn't_ do that to Glynda. No. She had her answer.

 _[Rise.]_

The soldier did as she was beckoned and stood, startled to discover that her pain was gone. All of her wounds had completely healed in a matter of seconds - _faster_ , even. It was as though she was freshly arriving on the scene. Even her uniform was fresh and clean without a single tear or blemish. Her dark red hair was newly cleaned and re-set into it's normal, tightly bound bun. The single bang she allowed to hang over her face was exactly as it always was, with the white streak shining amidst the red. Any trace of the Grimm poison in her arm was gone as well. She felt _fantastic_ \- until she looked out over the battlefield once again, crashing back down to reality.

 _[The journey before you is a long one, full of lives to defend, enemies to defeat, and mysteries to solve. The greatest one being your own. Are you ready?]_

Well, there was no going back now. Sapphire had loads of questions but she knew, deep down, that there would be no answers here. She had to move forward and see where fickle fate would take her. She was ready.

As if on cue, a brilliant blue-green light erupted from the empty space behind her. It quickly engulfed the woman, pulling her out of existence itself. A small spark was all that remained of the woman who had once been called Ruby Rose.

 _[Eight-Eight-Four-Three, transfer confirmed.]_

* * *

 **For those playing the home game, Glynda's teammates from the letter are Dew Gayl (from team NDGO), Ilia Amitola (from White Fang), and Raven Branwen (Yang's mom). Together they form team GRID.**

 **In order to keep the Schnee name attached to the company, Jacques was the** _ **only**_ **person I did not randomize. Deal with it.**

 **I actually like how this chapter turned out, despite it being the shortest chapter of the set. And you've probably figured out by now that I plan on bringing these alternate Rubys back at some point... they're not _just_ disappearing for no reason. More to come on that later.  
**


	5. The Broken (rewrite)

**THIS IS A REWRITE OF CHAPTER 5.  
IT IS _NOT_ A NEW CHAPTER.  
PLEASE DON'T BE CONFUSED.  
**

 **Author's Note: First, the _why_... after looking back over chapter 5, I realized that I basically rushed myself. The quality of story was lower than I can accept at this stage. I also no longer like the fact that I used the 'revenge' cliche. I was going for a _psychotic_ Ruby, but she ended up just being _angry_. I know I can do better, ergo this rewrite. I'm making it into something like two acts; the first act is the flashback summary, followed by the actual story.  
**

 **It's probably _still_ a bit rushed, but I didn't want to hang out too long... after all, we'll get more chances to learn about everyone's worlds later.**

 **I don't own RWBY in any way. But you already knew that, ...right?  
**

* * *

 _Ruby squinted in the harsh sunlight, trying to block it with her tiny hands so she could see the woman in front of her. This was the only woman who truly mattered to the girl, so she tried as hard as she could... but the sunrise would show no mercy.  
_

 _"You behave now, Ruby Rose," a kind, gentle voice said. Summer Rose knelt down in front of her daughter, the second love of her life, and gave her a big hug. "I'll be back before you know it."_

 _"Are you gonna fight the Grimm?" the little redhead asked. She had never liked the black creatures, and the thought that her mother was going out to fight them scared her._

 _"That's right," The older woman smiled. The breeze rustled her cloak lightly, the red underside standing out in sharp contrast to the milky white exterior._

 _Young silver eyes widened in concern, "What if they hurt you? What if you get sent to the hos- ...hospit-..." she hated having to say that word..._

 _Summer ran her hand through Ruby's deep red locks of hair, smiling, "Don't you worry about that, little one. There's not a Grimm alive who can beat your mom."_

 _Simple words, but they successfully defeated any worry that remained. Ruby grinned from ear to ear, cooing, "Yeah, you're Super Mom!"_

 _She leaned forward and planted a kiss on the child's forehead. Ruby gazed at her mother in deep awe and complete love, her silver eyes gleaming in the sunlight. Older, more experienced silver eyes gazed back, as deep as any lake. "I love you, little rose."_

 _She stood up and walked over to a shorter blonde girl and a grown blonde man, both family, and gave them their goodbyes as well. Then she walked away, down the road and into the forest, as she headed for town and the airships beyond._

 _They would never see Summer Rose again._

* * *

It had only been two weeks since she left, and now she was gone. Truly _gone_. Summer was dead. Taiyang Xiao Long and Yang, his oldest daughter, could only weep at the news when it reached their small home on Patch. The messenger was direct, but sympathetic. He only left once he made sure all three members of the family were dully noted. There was a deathly silence over the house for several minutes after the door closed. To the blonde man, it suddenly felt like a tomb. After Raven's disappearance, Summer Rose was the only light he had left, but now... it was like the sun had gone out. She was also the only mother Yang had really known, ...but now the girl had lost _two_ mothers. How many more tragedies could one child take?

Neither blonde noticed at first, but after a few minutes of quiet sadness they heard... humming? They looked over and found Ruby cheerfully coloring on the floor in the living room. Yang was upset at first (how could that twit be _happy_ right now?), but Taiyang calmed her down, then went over to talk to his youngest child.

"Ruby ...are you okay?"

She looked up, eyes bright, "Yep!" She was actually _smiling_. "Why would I _not_ be okay?"

The taller man was a bit speechless, "W-well, I... aren't you sad?"

Silver eyes stared back in confusion, "Sad? What for?"

"Because Sum- er, because your mom is ...gone...?" Taiyang tried.

"Yeah, I know she's gone," the child said as she returned to her coloring, "she said she'd be back before I knew it, so I'm just gonna wait."

Sensing Yang was about to pop, the father of the house tried again, "Sweetie, she's not coming back..."

Ruby looked up again, her young face filled with positive energy. "Sure she is," The redhead grinned, not a trace of doubt anywhere on her face.

Yang could no longer keep quiet and shouted from across the room, " _MOM'S DEAD, YOU DUMMY!_ "

There was an awkward, silent pause. Both blondes watched the redhead and waited for a reaction, but Ruby didn't even move for almost a minute.

Ruby suddenly shot up, angrily shouting back, "SHE IS _NOT!_ Nothing can beat Mom! Nothing!" Seeing that no one was going to say anything to that, she continued, "She told me she'd be back, so _she'll be back!_ Just wait, you'll see!"

Loud footsteps followed as little Ruby pounded up the stairs and into her bedroom, slamming the door. The two Xiao Longs just stared at each other in stunned silence.

"She'll get over it... eventually," Taiyang stated.

If either blonde had bothered to check on Ruby, they would have been ...more than a little creeped out by what they saw. Ruby stood stock still at the window, staring blankly out into the distance. She didn't move _all night_. Not once did she shift away from her spot or try to sleep. She did, however, quietly mutter, "She's not dead," several times during the night.

* * *

[ TWO YEARS LATER... ]

* * *

School for a child can either be a place of great fun and playing with your friends, ...or it can be hell. For Ruby, it was a bit of both. She had friends that she played with a lot, often going over to their house or bringing them to hers. They had the parties, the sleepovers, everything. Yang intruded a few times, but she had her own group of friends to hang out with, so she didn't hang around much.

On the other hand, other kids from the school learned of Summer's death and decided to bully Ruby about it. Kids will be kids of course, and all bully-type kids enjoy teasing another kid just to get a reaction. Ruby was an easy target, since she was so _defensive_ about her mother still being alive. The bullies just found it funny.

One day, it finally went too far. A larger boy had (somehow) gotten a hold of Ruby's photo of her mother. It was a photo that she treasured. The boy slowly ripped it into little pieces while his lackeys held her down, forcing her to watch the act. They wanted a reaction, ...and _boy_ did they get one.

A total of four boys were sent to the emergency room with numerous cuts and broken bones all over their bodies. The boy who tore up the picture died at the scene. According to the police report, his face had been ...smashed into his skull. They could not have identified the body without the ID in his pocket. Ruby Rose was sent to a juvenile correctional facility for 3 years since she was too young to put on trial for manslaughter.

Yang would never forget those visits she and Taiyang made while Ruby was incarcerated. The girl just ...sat there, looking empty. That was the only word she could use. Ruby just looked like a deflated balloon. According to the guards, Ruby was brought in without having been washed off first - her forearms were still completely covered in blood. It looked like she had beaten that boy's face in with her _bare hands._ They also claimed that all Ruby had said during her time here was "She's not dead," over and over.

* * *

[ FIVE YEARS LATER... ]

* * *

After she was released, Ruby seemed to be completely recovered. Taiyang was more than happy to admit his daughter into Signal once she was old enough, giving no thought to what the other kids might think. Ruby was going to be fine, right?

Yang wasn't so sure, especially when she caught up with Ruby just before graduation. The girl had just finished her weapon... and it was a gigantic scythe. A _killing_ weapon. Ruby seemed like she was _in love_ with the thing, fawning all over it and calling it her 'sweetheart.' Yang couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen...

And sure enough, it did. As a member of the graduating class, Yang got out of school a week earlier than the underclassmen. This meant an extra week of being lazy at home, and the blonde was definitely not going to miss any of that. Taiyang was, of course, thrilled to have his girl back home and immediately took her out back for some sparring. All through the match, however, Yang was distracted by a seemingly random thought; that she was forgetting something very important. It tingled at the back of her mind all through the shower after the fight, too. She just couldn't shake the feeling. It was starting to get on her nerves, so she tried checking her messages to distract herself. One of them was a notification that was a few days old (and she _had_ seen it); the staff at Signal was planning to present Ruby with a memorial bouquet of flowers in memory of her mother, Summer Rose, during the end-of-the-year assembly.

The entire school would be in the same room as someone who believed Summer was alive, just as they gave their condolences for her death.

Yang felt like her blood had been replaced with ice. There was no _way_ this was going to end well...

The blonde checked the clock and realized that the assembly program had started an hour ago, so she quickly called up the school office. No one answered. She tried again and again for almost 15 minutes before trying the police station nearby. When she _finally_ got a hold of someone, she quickly learned that the incident Yang was most afraid of had literally _just happened._

Signal Academy was a bloodbath. The remaining students and all of the teachers were gathered in the auditorium, but no one had made it back out. Everyone was dead and there was blood everywhere. The only student that had not been accounted for thus far was also their number one suspect: Ruby Rose. There was not a single trace of her anywhere on the campus, nor was there any sign of her leaving. After nearly a month of searching, the redhead would remain missing.

They had found a message scratched out into the bricks of the back wall of the stage, carved out in rough, jagged lines.

It simply read: " _SHE'S NOT DEAD!"_

* * *

[ THREE YEARS LATER... ]

* * *

Yang Xiao Long was close to graduating Beacon Academy and becoming a professional Huntress.

Big freakin' deal. At least she was old enough to drink.

And that was where she found herself right now, trying and failing to get plastered. This bar just didn't serve the kind of drinks that would do the job, she guessed. School had been fun and all, ...hell, she even managed to get herself a girlfriend, ...but it all felt empty. Hollow. There was a void there, and no amount of good times, partying, and making-out would fill it. It was a hole in the shape of a young girl with a red hood. Mounted to the wall above her seat was the TV, and on it was a face that Yang would have recognized even _without_ having been his student for a full three years; Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy and possibly the most famous Huntsman in the world. Of course, _that_ depended on who you asked.

The man had been talking for several minutes before Yang was even paying attention, but she finally looked up and watched for a bit.

 _"...And as we remember the lives lost in the tragedy of Signal Academy a scant three years ago, we must never forget the loved ones we've lost elsewhere in the world of Remnant. Huntsman and Huntresses the world over have given their lives as a sacrifice for the good of all mankind..."_

Yang winced at the memory. After pretty much _everyone_ at Signal had croaked, _all_ schools had shut down for a while until they could rule out the possibility of anything like this happening again. Signal itself had _completely_ shut down, ...since it had no one left to pick it back up.

 _"...and finally, I offer my deepest sympathies to the family of my student Yang Xiao Long, who lost her younger sister in that awful tragedy. This is also accompanied by the loss of their mother and my close friend Summer Rose, who passed away almost ten years ago now. And to the families of all who have lost loved ones... never give in. Never succumb to the darkness. It is for that ...that they gave their lives."_

As Ozpin's face faded to other news, Yang muttered, "Yeah yeah, pretty words," took a swig of her drink, then said, "won't bring her back."

Less than five minutes later, Yang's scroll rang: it was their house. Why would dad be calling? She grabbed it, hit answer, and said, "...Hello?"

"Can you believe the garbage they air nowadays? All these lies... sickening..."

Yang's heart leapt into her throat. " _Ruby?!_ Oh, gods... is that _you_ , sis?"

A laugh, "Of course it's me, silly! Who else would it be?"

"Well the caller ID said home, so I thought it was dad..."

There was a pause, a bit of rustling, then Ruby said, "Yeah, Dad... can't talk right now..."

Yang did _not_ like the sound of that. "What do you mean, where is he?"

"Right next to me."

She didn't explain, and Yang became more nervous. "Um... can I talk to him?"

"Nope." There was no hesitation.

"Ruby..." the blonde started, a knot forming in her stomach, "...why not?"

"Because he's dead." Yang could hear Ruby's bright smile through the phone line. "They're all dead. All the liars."

Yang was glad she was sitting, because if she had been standing she would have fallen to the floor. If that line had come from _anybody_ else, she wouldn't have bought it. If Ruby had sounded even _remotely_ sad or regretful, Yang would have gotten angry. But the redhead's voice was calm and cheery, like she was expecting her big sister to praise her for a job well done. No... hearing that at this moment, Yang was _terrified_.

She barely managed to whisper, "...What do you mean... _all?_ "

"Everyone on Patch. You _know_..." Ruby's voice took on the tone of a whine, just like it did when she was 11. "Everyone who said Mom was dead."

Yang felt like she was in a dream. She pulled her scroll away from her face and looked at it like she expected it to come to life, ...or something. There were simply no words. Yang had spent _three freaking years_ thinking her baby sister was running around the woods somewhere in the middle of nowhere, lost and alone. Her time at Beacon had been a literal _hell_ because of that... and now she finds out that her own flesh and blood is a ...murderer?

Ruby 'oohed,' as though suddenly having a thought, "Oh, Yang... I just thought of something..."

The blonde didn't answer. Her voice had quit for the day.

"You ...never believed me about mom... did you?" It was more of an accusation than an actual question. Yang's heart was pounding loud enough that she was sure everyone in the bar could hear it.

"And now Ozpin is saying those things... and on worldwide television, no less..." Ruby sighed, her breath making static in Yang's ear. "I guess I'll have to go and see him. Someone's got to explain the truth, you know?"

"Wait, no... Ruby!" Yang's voice returned with a vengeance. "Please don't do this... I can talk to him, you don't have to-"

"You had three years to tell him _and_ you never believed me. I'll do this myself."

" _Ruby!_ "

-CLICK-

* * *

The trip from Patch to Beacon Academy normally took a few hours by airship, but Yang knew better than to waste what could be _very_ precious time. Glynda proved ... _less_ than accommodating, but once Yang convinced her that the headmaster's _life_ was at stake, she began to listen. The full explanation took a bit longer than expected, but Yang managed to get her point across.

Ozpin put the entire campus on lock down and posted all teachers and fourth-year students along the perimeter. He kept Yang and Glynda in his office with him, since they were the most likely to convince the girl to stop without killing her. It amazed Yang that even though Ruby was wanted for a large number of murders, the man was _not_ willing to take her life.

It was just too bad Ruby didn't feel the same way. In far less time than they anticipated, Huntsman and Huntresses all over the school were dropping. The office had a radar that showed the location of each warrior, but the dots began to quickly become extinguished.

"No formal training for three years, yet she is wiping out experienced hunters and talented students with impunity." Ozpin's voice carried no emotion. "In any other circumstance, I would have _welcomed_ such talent into our doors with open arms."

Glynda intoned, "It would seem our doors _are_ her target at this point."

Before they knew it, the dots were gone. Yang quickly ran to the vast windows and looked down... then immediately wished she hadn't. There were red splotches _all over the campus_. Ruby had been here, but how could she be moving so _...fast?_

Then the elevator bell dinged. Everyone held their breath.

The door opened and in stepped Ruby Rose. She was wearing her usual battle attire - except that it was now _fully_ red, having been drenched in human blood only moments ago. The crimson liquid dripped from her expanded weapon, leaving a trail on the carpet. There was a large splotch of blood across her face. She was smiling sweetly.

"Oh, hey Yang! Were you waiting for me?" She grinned a smile that could light up a room... and _would have_ if not for all the blood.

Yang took a hesitant step forward, saying, "Ruby... what have you _done_...?"

The redhead's face contorted for a moment, a look of confusion flashing over the smile, before she said, "I told you before, right? I'm getting rid of the liars!"

" _But we're not liars_ , Ruby!"

A split second later, Ruby Rose ...turned into a black mist. It was only a moment, but Yang caught it. The blonde's arms instantly went limp and she fell to her knees. Her entire body had gone numb. Yang's last thought was of confusion.

 _Why is everything... tumbling over... and over?"_

...

...

Ruby stepped over the now-headless body of her sister Yang and said, "And now, Ozpin of Beacon... let's talk."

* * *

Their conversation was not long, but the older man felt like he had aged several years in the first few minutes. The bodies of his former secretary and his brightest student did little to ease his concerns. The redhead had at least gone to the trouble to turn their dismembered heads _away_ from them while they talked.

"Why are you doing this, Ruby Rose?" he asked.

The girl sighed, obviously getting tired of having to explain herself over and over, "Because you all think Mom is dead, but she's _not._ "

A single gray eyebrow was raised, "Why do you say that?"

"Be- _cause_... no one can kill my Mom! Summer Rose is Super Mom!" Ruby spun on her heels, looking around the bloodied room with a childish glee, "So she's fine. I don't know why she hasn't shown up yet, but I know I'll find her. I've been looking for the last three years, you know..."

Ozpin simply wasn't sure what to say to that. The girl just ... _believed_ that Summer was alive. It was almost enough to make Ozpin himself reconsider...

The giant scythe was suddenly unfolded again, "But then you had to go and say that she's been _dead for ten years_. And _everyone_ heard it." She took a menacing step forward, still smiling that innocent smile. "That makes you a liar..."

The older man said nothing, but he did tighten his grip on his cane. He had enough experience with mental illness to know when talking would simply _not_ work.

" _I kill liars._ " The scythe went up...

The cane was raised...

And then the space between them was torn apart in a burst of blue-green energy.

Before Ozpin's stunned eyes stood ...another Ruby Rose. But not the _same_ Ruby. The bloodied girl was in her late teens, old enough to be admitted as a first-year, and had developed accordingly. The _new_ Ruby looked much younger - she stood much shorter and her body was smaller in comparison to her head. She also wasn't covered in blood, which was all the man needed to know at this moment. Other than the massive discoloration difference, both Rubys wore the same outfit.

"Please wait, Ruby Rose," the new Ruby said. Ozpin thought he heard an uncanny depth to her voice.

"Uh, ...are you ...me?" The girl still held her weapon at the ready.

" _Yes_... and _no_. Just know that I am _not_ your enemy." Two sets of silver eyes locked onto each other.

The bloody Ruby blinked, "Well, _that's_ good. Now ...if you'll excuse me..." she began to go around the new arrival.

"I know what you want, Ruby. What you ... _really_ want."

The taller girl stopped and looked, "...you mean...?"

"Yes," she answered. The shorter girl turned to stare directly into bloody Ruby's face. "I can take you to your Mother."

The giant scythe clattered to the ground, dropped and forgotten. Bloody Ruby was jumping up and down like a 5-year-old. "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod, do you really mean it? You know where she is? You _really_ know where she is? I _knew_ it! I _knew_ she was alive!"

Smaller Ruby was taking it all in stride, like an experienced babysitter with a hyperactive toddler, "I do, but I need to tell you something first."

Bloody Ruby stopped hopping and stared, her fists clenched under her chin like a child at her birthday party.

"She's not at a place that's ...easy to get to." The girl seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "My friend and I are working on a device that can help you reach her, but it won't be ready for a while yet." Seeing that she had the taller girl's full attention, the newer Ruby said, "If you'll come with me, I can help you get there. I can help you find Summer."

Bloody Ruby resumed jumping around, accompanied by a giant hug for the smaller girl and a _squee_ of delight. It was like watching a young person getting their acceptance letter to a university ...or something like that.

"Are you ready?"

She stopped jumping long enough to nod, quickly gathering up her sweetheart and folding it up on her back.

The younger Ruby pulled a small device from her pocket and held it up in front of her like a camera, aiming at Bloody Ruby. She pressed a button and tore space open once again, the blue-green energy swallowing the former serial killer and erasing her from existence.

The girl pressed a few more buttons, then held it close to her face and said, "Six-Six-Six-Two, transfer confirmed," then she sighed deeply, "She's _not_ going to be happy about this one..."

Ozpin, having seen all of this, finally stumbled back into his chair.

The younger Ruby who remained now turned to the older man, "I'm so... so _sorry_ I didn't get here earlier." Ozpin saw tears beginning to form in the girl's silver eyes. "...But I promise... I _swear_ to you... she will _not_ be back."

The older man watched wordlessly as the girl carefully made her way over to the remains of Yang Xiao Long. He clearly heard her breath catch and was _just_ able to hear her last words before she, too, vanished in that otherworldly light.

 _How many more do I have to watch die?_

* * *

 **Dammit... I didn't want to kill Yang off _again_... damn these tragedies...**

 **A big thank-you to silver dragon15 for his review of my _old_ chapter 5. It's reviews like his that I appreciate the most... without it, I never would have recognized my mistakes. We all like the 'good job' and 'awesome work' reviews, but nothing helps a writer understand his flaws like a critical review.**

 **That being said... don't tear me a new one, ...please?**


End file.
